Mamata Banerjee, Centre differ on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel birthday events

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has once again crossed swords with the Narendra Modi government: this time over the celebration of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary on October 31.

Recently the University Grants Commission (UGC), which is under the ministry of human resource and development, issued a direction to the vice-chancellors of all the universities in the states to ensure celebration of the freedom fighter’s birth anniversary at the academic institutions and the colleges affiliated to them in a ‘befitting manner.’ The list of events, through which the celebration has to be made, are lectures, seminars, debates, sports activities, musical events and drama with a focus on unity, according to sources. The authorities of the varsities have been asked to take photos of the events and send them to the UGC through email, sources revealed.

This has left the Trinamul Congress government fuming. State education minister Partha Chatterjee has made it clear that showing honour and respect to the greats can not be made mandatory.He has also ruled out the possibility of following the UGC’s order.

The government has informed the UGC that it does not need any guideline for the celebration while underlining that it would celebrate Patel’s birth anniversary in it own way, sources added.

This is not the first time the state government clashed with the Centre in the academic area. It earlier defied the Union government’s directive on the guidelines about how to celebrate the Teachers’ Day and playing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the educational institutions.